Revanth Reddy must retract his statements regarding school closures: TSEC

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s remarks on closing schools in villages and hamlets and consolidating 27,000 schools to 4,000 are deeply unfortunate, Telangana Save Education Committee (TSEC) leader G. Haragopal said on Saturday.

The presence of a government school in every village is essential for building a humane and inclusive society, he said, demanding that Mr. Reddy withdraw his statements immediately.

Mr Reddy made the remarks at The Hindu Huddle 2026 lecture held in Bengaluru last week and drew criticism from various stakeholders.

Instead, the government must allocate 20% of its education sector budget to develop all government schools in the state and ensure provision of quality, equitable and free education to all, they appealed.

The demands were made on Saturday at a round table meeting organized by TSEC, attended by educators, teachers, students and representatives of civil society groups.

Speaking at the event, MLC M. Kodandaram said that the government’s move to close schools was inappropriate and that the Chief Minister must reconsider his proposals while pledging his support to TSEC in protecting schools.

Mahindra University Professor M. Sridhar Acharyulu said the announcement to close 23,000 schools violated the Constitution and the Right to Education Act. He noted that the situation now calls for a fight to protect the constitution along with the protection of education.

In the meeting, the committee’s executive secretary K. Lakshminarajana announced the action plan and said the memoranda would be submitted to all public representatives in the state between June 20 and July 15. He added that round table meetings would be organized in each district to discuss these issues.

Leaders from CPI(M), CPI(ML), CPI(ML) New Democracy, Arunodaya Cultural Federation, Dalit Bahujan Front, Vidyavantula Vedika, MV Foundation, State Teachers Union, United Teachers’ Federation, Telangana People’s Joint Action Committee, Telangana Progressive Teachers’ Federation, Democratic Teachers’ Federation and various student unions were present.

Published – 13 Jun 2026 21:12 IST